Mid-day meal workers seek wage revision and job security in Amritsar

A recent visit by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) team to a Punjab government school in Ludhiana has once again brought the long-pending wage issue of mid-day meal workers into focus. In a video shared by CJP leader Saurav Das, the workers’ monthly honorarium of Rs 3,000 was highlighted as inadequate, drawing attention to the pay and working conditions of nearly 45,000 cooks and helpers engaged in the state’s school meal programme.

The Punjab Mid-Day Meal Workers Union has been demanding that workers be brought under a regular wage system and paid Rs 25,000 a month instead of the existing honorarium. The union has also sought two uniforms annually, free insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh and additional remuneration for extra duties assigned to them.

Despite raising the demands with the state government, including cabinet ministers, the workers say they have yet to receive any substantial relief.

“We are expected to run a household with Rs 3,000, when the cost of providing a single meal to a family of four or five for a month is more than that. There are no incentives, unlike other government jobs. We are also expected to work with minimal resources, remain at schools throughout school hours, maintain hygiene standards and ensure the nutritional quality of meals, while our labour is not adequately paid,” said Ranjit Kaur, a mid-day meal cook at a government school in Udoke village.

Union leaders, including Punjab Mid-Day Meal Union president Mamta Sharma, alleged that leaders of the present Punjab Government had promised before the Assembly elections to increase the workers’ remuneration. They claimed that no revision had been made despite the government completing nearly four and a half years in office.

Workers say the low honorarium has made it increasingly difficult for them to meet household expenses. Sunita Rani, a worker at a government primary school in Kot Khalsa, said the workers played an important role in the school system by preparing and serving meals to children but were still being denied what they consider basic entitlements.

“When we protest, we are called ‘political pawns’. If we don’t, who will listen to us?” she asked.

The wage issue is also linked to the funding structure of the PM POSHAN scheme, under which the Centre and state share financial responsibilities. The state government has cited the financial implications of any increase in workers’ remuneration. Workers, however, argue that the existing arrangement leaves them without the job security and minimum wages associated with regular employment.

“We have not been given our full salaries for the last few months. The last payment made to us was Rs 2,000. How is that justified? How do we run our homes and meet our expenses with this?” Sunita asked.

Most mid-day meal cooks and helpers are women from local villages who took up the work as a source of income and financial independence. With their concerns over wages and job security continuing, many are now joining other government employee unions in protests across the state.